“You look beautiful today,” he murmured gently as my lips pulled up. Damn, this man. He was so fucking perfect. My smile grew as I remembered what I had brought with me today, hoping to have a moment alone despite the rarity of it. I tugged his hand gently and led him towards the back patio.
“What are you doing, little lamb?” Draven asked curiously, his voice deep as heat flashed in his gaze.
I turned towards him and nibbled my lip. “I did something.” My cheeks pinkened. “I don’t know how you will feel about it, but I just couldn’t leave it at Broken House… I figured this would mean I would always have a piece of you with me.”
Ugh! It sounded even more cheesy out loud than it had in my head.
Draven stared at me, bewildered, probably because I was rambling like an idiot, as I put my hand into my pocket. My fingers closed around the clear crystal medallion that was attached to a leather necklace. Nervously, I brought it in front of my body and opened it, meeting his gaze while feeling nervous as hell.
His eyes moved slowly from my expression that was no doubt flushed to the piece of jewelry in my hand. His eyes immediately darkened into a rich amethyst, and a low rumble broke from his throat. I let out a squeak as he tugged me forward by my wrist, the necklace pressed between us as he examined it, curiosity and something so much hotter burning in his eyes.
“When?” his voice was rough and sexy.
“The morning when we woke up together, the first time I saw your wings,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to leave it there, so I kept it… and did this.”
His gaze explored my honest expression, and a possessive look filtered over it as he tightened his grip on my wrist. “Little lamb, do you know what it means to wear this?”
“That I want you by me,” I mumbled quietly. “Always.” Damn, today was not my day. I. Was. So. Awkward.
Draven lifted the necklace higher between us, my eyes tracing the black feather that floated in the crystal. It was suspended by a spell that a local witch had done. I had to admit, I didn’t hang with witches very often, but her shop had been very down to earth and filled with crystals and herbs.
“You have no idea,” he blinked in realization while cocking his head in a slightly predatory move. “You have never heard of angels doing this?”
“Is this a common thing?” I asked with uncertainty. Suddenly my gift didn’t seem so special. “I didn’t even know angels existed before you, Draven.”
His eyes flared with heat as he placed his hands on my upper arms and turned me. I lifted my hair, but his fingers hesitated to close the necklace around me. His voice was soft and rough. “I should tell you what this means.”
“What does this mean?” I asked, looking up. It was rare that I felt unsure of myself or naive, but I almost didn’t mind it in this case. I liked the look in Draven’s gaze, even if I didn’t completely understand it.
He muttered a curse and pulled back the necklace, turning me so that we were pressed together again. “If I put this on you, it will never come off.”
“What?” I asked seriously. I didn’t mind that at all.
Draven searched my expression as he explained, “When an angel wears the feather of another angel, it means they are mates and have bonded as such. If you wear this, not only will it show that you are my mate, but the magic bond will form whether we want it or not.”
Why wouldn’t we want it? was the first thought that went through my head. Followed by the knowledge that it was way too fucking late to stop it, magic feather or no. My stomach tightened with excitement as our magic watched us with interest, both laying together already. I sucked at words, so I decided to simply take action. I turned and pulled up my hair, and his sharp intake of breath had me knowing he understood.
Not asking twice, Draven looped it around as he mumbled something softly against my neck in a language I didn’t know. When he clipped it on, everything inside of me tightened, and a comfortable haze had me sighing in contentment. It almost felt like a goddamn mating bite, the weird, hazy, almost languid feeling that would follow one of those soaring through me.
Draven turned me and cupped my jaw, his eyes flashing to where the necklace laid. “Fuck. I love that way too much.”
I love you way too much.
Before I could tell him, his lips seared to mine, making me moan against him. I found myself crawling up his fucking body as he held me close, his hands tightening under my thighs as my legs locked around him, his mouth devouring mine at a slow, delicious pace. I whimpered as he groaned, his cock hard as fuck between us. My body was willing me to just fully fucking mate with him. Right here and right now.
I knew it wasn’t the time, though. Emotionally, Draven and I were much further along than we were physically. So instead, I deepened the kiss and clutched onto him, my hand smoothing over his heart that beat impossibly fast.
“Lorcan,” he rasped, pulling away.
I pressed my forehead against his and smoothed my fingers against his skin gently. “I didn’t realize what it meant, exactly, but something told me that it was right. That I should keep it and always have it with me.”
“Because you’re mine,” he murmured, his nose trailing my collarbone. “Forever.”
“Forever,” I agreed softly as he met my gaze. Affection and adoration filled his eyes.
“And I’m yours, forever,” his voice was quiet, but honesty radiated from it.
Before I could say anything, a voice clearing had us looking over at Desmond standing in the doorway. I blushed as Draven slid me down his body, his arms locking around me possessively.
“They are almost here,” Desi explained.
As I turned to walk towards him, I heard Desmond chuckle. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
Draven let out a low rumble as I looked between them. Desmond kept his gaze on him, asking, “She knows?”
“Of course,” he said softly. “She was the one who had it made to surprise me.”
Desmond’s brows rose as he flashed me a smile. “Little love, so full of surprises.”
I ran my fingers over the necklace and Draven growled, scooping me up from behind as I let out a small laugh. As he put me down by everyone else, I leaned into him, and he rested his lips against my temple. I could feel the eyes of the other boys on me, but my cheeks were pretty pink, so I kept myself tucked against him, feeling a bit bashful. Luckily, the sound of a car pulling up had everyone looking towards the door. Dean grunted as I let out a small laugh, knowing he hated this.
“Yeah?” He narrowed his eyes at me.
I nibbled my lip as he brushed his lips against mine, not minding being close to Draven. I was glad the two psychos could get along. My magic relaxed as he stalked towards the door, the rest of my boys moving closer to me. Cute.
When I heard the sound of a car door opening, I felt a surge of curiosity hit me. I could feel a spark of unusual energy that felt a bit like a lightning bolt. My magic surged forward, half defensively and half curious. I nearly rolled my eyes at her dramatics, but at least I knew my home girl always had me covered.
“Hello!”
The voice that floated in from the driveway was full of energy and distinctly feminine. Normally that would have me feeling defensive, especially since it seemed I was being a bit of a crazy possessive loonie lately, but I was more curious than anything. Dean was mine, and of course, in my siren’s opinion, five hundred feet away was still ‘too close’ to our guards, but I wasn’t terribly worried.